Major upgrade sought for Clifton Park Ice Arena

Town to hire engineer to review work at 26-year-old site

Updated 7:45 am, Friday, January 10, 2014

SARTU TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO WILL WALDRON--Clifton Park Ice Arena in Clifton Commons may consider a third rink now that B.I.G. Arena in Bethlehem is for sale, Wednesday February 17, 2004.

SARTU TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO WILL WALDRON--Clifton Park Ice Arena in Clifton Commons may consider a third rink now that B.I.G. Arena in Bethlehem is for sale, Wednesday February 17, 2004.

Photo: WILL WALDRON

Major upgrade sought for Clifton Park Ice Arena

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Clifton Park

The town needs to reconstruct the Clifton Park Ice Arena's concrete floor and infrastructure, a major project that will likely cost at least $200,000.

The Town Board on Monday is expected to vote to hire the engineering firm Barton & Loguidice of Albany to oversee work at the municipal arena on Clifton Common Boulevard. Parts of the 26-year-old rink are wearing down and need replacement, Supervisor Philip Barrett said.

"These types of rinks have a shelf-life, and we're up against that time frame," Barrett said.

The project involves removing and replacing the hockey boards that surround the rink, a concrete floor below its ice and a maze of piping. The arena also needs a new chiller.

The work and materials could cost several hundred thousand dollars, Barrett said, but the exact figure won't be known until the town goes out to bid for the project. Clifton Park plans to pay for it out of its reserve funds, which total about $10 million, the supervisor said.

The town could start bidding on the work in late March after the rink's six-month ice season ends. Organizations such as Clifton Park Youth Hockey and the Shen Ice Hockey team pay fees to rent ice time. Town officials want the renovation work complete within a few months so the facility would be available for the community's full-day summer camp, which serves more than 200 children and uses the facility.

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The ice arena has turned a profit every year since Scott Bobrow took over as its manager in 2001. It generated $42,000 in 2012, bringing total profits between 2001 and 2012 to more than $280,000, according to Barrett. Profits were invested in the rink, and $1.4 million in debt was retired. Ice surface dimensions are 200-by-85 feet.

"Mr. Bobrow has been an excellent partner with us, and we look forward to many more successful and profitable years at the arena," Councilwoman Lynda Walowit said.